


Wear Your Heart On Your Skin

by FivePips



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Father-Son Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Remus runs a sandwich shop, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-02 15:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16308263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FivePips/pseuds/FivePips
Summary: Teddy Lupin is a nervous wreck the first day of his apprenticeship. Mainly because he was assuming that Sirius would treat him how other shop owners might treat their apprentices. Sirius shows him quickly he doesn’t play that way. Too bad Teddy’s father doesn’t seem to believe the truth.





	Wear Your Heart On Your Skin

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** Sirius owns his own tattoo studio and Teddy is his apprentice. Traditionally apprentices get treated like shit, but Sirius has never had much time for tradition. Unfortunately Remus doesn't know that and is fixated on making sure that this Sirius bloke treats his son well. Misunderstandings and miscommunication abound.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.  
>  **Notes:** Thank you elemtee and starstruck4moony for being wonderful betas!
> 
> “Wear your heart on your skin in this life.”  
> ― **Sylvia Plath** , **Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: Short Stories, Prose and Diary Excerpts**

“This is where we do piercings. Nym’s normally the main one who’s over here. Regulus fills in when she’s busy. We’re going to stick to tattoos, though. That is why I brought you on.” Sirius explained with a little laugh to the blue haired eighteen year old boy. Teddy Lupin was his name. Adorable kid; a bit nervous but his designs were amazing. Sirius could see so much potential.

When he came in looking to do an apprenticeship, Sirius took one look at his portfolio and didn’t hesitate to take him on. It had been some time since he had anyone in the shop as an apprentice. Regulus was probably the last and that was a few years back. It was entirely different with him too because it was his brother. Teddy was a stranger, barely out of school. Sirius wondered what his family thought of Teddy pursuing a career as a tattoo artist.

Sirius’ own family, his parents and most of his aunts, uncles, and cousins, laughed at his “business” and “art”. But they didn’t really matter. He had his brother, he had his cousin Nym and her parents, as well as the Potters who basically adopted him when he was an unruly teen getting away from his horrid parents. All that mattered now was that he was happy and his relationships and businesses were thriving.

“Each of the artists has their own little sort of cubicle area if you will. I mean it’s not a room but it’s not a cubicle either but it offers a bit more privacy than being out in the open.” Sirius said as he got to his station. It was blocked off the main hall by a shōji and the other two walls were red brick. Sirius’ station had a drafting table, a cart with all his supplies, and an adjustable chair. “This is mine. Ours for now. You’ll be here with me.”

“Okay.” Teddy nodded, biting at his bottom lip.

“I’m going to get you a table that you can work at. Today I have an appointment for a consultation at one then at 3 I have a thigh piece coming in. I thought for today and maybe the rest of the week you can just observe. For the next few weeks it will mostly be getting to know the shop. We’ll go over how to do front desk stuff, sterilization, supplies, basic concepts of design, and other random stuff. I also want you to spend time each day painting and drawing. I have some exercises for that. It’s suggested that you’re in that phase for at least three months but we’ll see how you’re doing. After that we’ll get into flash, needles, the machines, and all that.”

“Okay.”

“I think we should sit down this week and get down all the stuff we’re going to do in each phase. That’s how I learned, in phases of sort.”

“Right.”

“Teddy, you can relax, you know?” Sirius assured him. He knew what the expectation was for apprentices. They were usually treated as “shop bitches”. They were hazed and given shite all the time. They were made to do the crap jobs every moment. Sometimes they were kept away from actual practice for a while as they did all that stuff that did not matter.

“What? Yeah, I’m relaxed.”

Sirius laughed. “I’m sorry but I want you to know that I want you to be comfortable. I’m sure you’ve read horror stories online about how apprentices are treated like complete shite. I don’t believe that treating you like shite is going to make you a better artist. Yes, you might be asked to sweep or do some stocking or answer the phones but we all do that stuff. It won’t all be on you.”

Teddy let out an actual sigh of relief. “Was I being that obvious?”

“Oh, yeah, but it’s okay. When I was an apprentice the shop treated me horribly for the first few months. I almost quit a million times but this is my passion so I soldiered through. Then when I opened this place, I promised not to treat anyone the way I was treated back then.”

“Okay. Well, now I have to convince my dad that. He thinks that I’m going to be treated like shite the entire time.” Teddy snickered.

“I’m sure he’s just looking out for you. Good dads do that.” Sirius patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, I’ll show you how we book appointments and all the junk in case you need to be on the phones for whatever reason. Marls is our gatekeeper but she needs breaks too.”

Sirius spent the rest of the day with his apprentice, showing him the ropes. Teddy seemed to relax even more as the day went on. He sent the kid home early since there wasn’t much for him to do.

***

Over a week later, “Er, think I threw out some people’s lunch by accident.” Nym made a face as she stood in the entrance of Sirius’ work area. Teddy was sitting at his table working on dragon design that Charlie had fake commissioned as a part of his training.

“What?” Sirius looked at her. She was biting her lip, trying to look innocent.

“I was cleaning out the refrigerator and I tossed the lunches by accident and kept the stuff that had gone off.”

“Christ, Tonks.” He threw up a hand. “I’m starving, I was about to eat. How on earth do you mix that up?”

“My dad manages a deli. It’s a bit upmarket but it’s good.” Teddy suggested. “I could run over there and bring some sandwiches or something back.”

Sirius wanted to say no but he stomach grumbled and he could do with a good sandwich. “Maybe call him first to see if he can do it before running over there.”

Teddy nodded then fished out his phone. “Any allergies?”

“No fish, no pine nuts, no eggs.” Sirius listed what his staff was allergic to. “I also hate pickles.”

“Got it.” Teddy held the phone up to his ear, “Hey Kingsley, dad there?… Hi dad… no, things are fine… there was a mishap with lunches and we’re all starving to death… yeah, could you? Please… No… yes… I’ll come get it… It’s not a big deal… I have time… It’s lunch rush… Really?… Why?… Can’t you send Ben or someone?… You’re… Ugh, fine… Okay… Uh, let’s see six… Yeah, fish, pine nuts, eggs, and pickles…. Not really, Sirius doesn’t like pickles… I don’t know, is that a thing people are generally allergic to?… okay, I’ll see you soon… I’ll meet you in front of the shop… Dad!… Fine. Bye.” Teddy was blushing by the time he rung off with his dad.

Sirius was trying very hard the whole time not to laugh. Sirius hadn’t heard much of Teddy’s father outside of the first day he looked like he was panicking over the whole possible hazing/shop bitch stuff. Though, Sirius had given a lot of thought to what Mister Lupin was going to be like. Some man in his fifties who wore jumpers and his hair was going grey. Probably just the right amount of salt and pepper. Maybe a bit goofy. He probably wore sensible shoes and could barely handle his smartphone.

“So, dad’s coming?” Sirius grinned at Teddy.

“He’s going to be embarrassing. I’m going to meet him outside. He won’t be coming in here.”

“Well, I’d like to pay him for the meal, so I think he should come in.”

“He won’t take the money.” Teddy laughed, turning back to his work.

About forty minutes later, Sirius had Teddy restocking with Tonks to keep him occupied. He wanted to meet Teddy’s dad so he stood behind the counter and waited. Marlene and Dorcas were chatting with a girl about if nipple piercings hurt (Of course they did, it was needle going through a highly sensitive piece of skin). That was going to be a great thing for the man to walk into. He’d probably have a heart attack or something.

A tall bloke with curly hair carrying a bright pink bag came into his store. He was wearing a plain grey shirt with a flannel over it. He was wearing nice jeans and boots. He was very Farmer’s Market handsome. His eyes were a bright hazel and he had dimples. But then Sirius had a jarring realizing of who the man was. “You’re Teddy’s dad?"

He didn't look exactly like him, but there was definitely some resemblance. This was not what he imagined. At all.

“Ah, yeah, hi. Remus Lupin.”

“Dad!” Teddy came barreling into waiting area. “You’re already here. I was going to meet you outside.”

“I wasn’t going to wait outside.”

“You’re Teddy’s father?” Sirius repeated because he couldn’t believe this. The other man was about his age, he couldn’t have been over 35.

“My parents had me when he was sixteen,” Teddy said and Remus’ cheeks pinked.

“Must you disclose that all the time?”

“We look more like brothers than father and son. Of course I have to. Thanks for bringing lunch.” He physically took the bag off of Remus’ shoulder. Teddy was clearly in a rush to get rid of his father.

“Bloody hell, Ted, what is wrong with you?” Remus scrunched his nose. “I don’t understand what happened with lunch. How does it just end up in the trash?”

“My cousin threw out everyone’s lunch. It was — she’s a bit of a disaster but we love her.” He smiled at the taller man. “She’s good at her job.” When Nym first started to develop an interest in piercing, Sirius couldn’t believe it. But she had never injured herself or another person while working. All her mess ups happened outside of it.

Remus didn’t look like he believed the story. Sirius wondered if Teddy’s initial worries came solely from his dad. The way Remus was looking doubtful, confirmed it.

“How much do I owe you?” Sirius asked, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

“Oh, nothing. No worries.” He waved a hand.

“Would you like a tour or anything? Join us for lunch?” Sirius asked. If the man were concerned, he would like to put those worries to rest. He could be very charming.

“I should get back to the shop.” Remus smiled, sort of a tight one. “Ted, I’ll see you for dinner?”

“I’ll be there.” Teddy was taking out the sandwiches from the bag as if he was searching for a particular kind.

“It was nice meeting you,” Sirius said quickly as Remus made a move to leave.

“You too.” Remus gave a quick nod before leaving the shop.

Sirius watching him walk away through the windows before looking over at Teddy, who was staring at him with a funny look on his face. “What?”

“Nothing.” Ted shrugged a shoulder. “My dad is suspicious of you and the shop. He thinks I’m just a shop bitch and I’m lying to him that it’s all fine.”

“I figured.” Sirius sighed. “How do we combat that, then?” He did not want Teddy’s dad going around thinking he wasn’t treating his son right. It just wasn’t in his nature to be cruel. Growing up he did love to play pranks but he never would intentionally hurt anyone. Well, there was that one time but he was going through Things and the other person had nearly killed James and Lily. He’s felt that he had made up for it karmically tenfold by now.

“I don’t know, he’ll get over it eventually.” Teddy handed Sirius a sandwich. “You’ll like this one best, I think. It’s a basil pesto, tomato, and mozzarella melt. Dad makes the bread himself.” He said before gathering the rest to give out to the rest of the staff.

Marlene cleared her throat as the woman she was was talking to went off with Nymphadora to get the piercing. Dorcas had gone off to eat her sandwich in the back room. Sirius ignored her as he unwrapped the melt. It smelt heavenly and looked just as delicious.

“God, this looks amazing.” He held up the sandwich to inspect it.

“So, Teddy’s dad’s hot. Huh? What a surprise.” She said nudging him with her elbow as she picked up the sandwich Teddy had left for her.

“Marlene, I am not going to be interested in my apprentice’s father.” He kept his voice low in case Teddy was close but he couldn’t see him. “Plus, I think he hates me. Or hates the idea of me and what I could do to his son.”

“Yes, but you could sweet talk him otherwise.” Marlene raised an eyebrow.

“We don’t even know if he’s either married or even interested in blokes.”

“Never stopped you before.” She snorted a laugh.

Sirius ignored her and bit into his melt.

***

A few weeks later and Teddy was doing well. He was learning about sterilization and aftercare of tattoos rather quickly. His drawings were always amazing too. He did a few mock consultations with either people in the shop or friends. Sirius had not heard a thing about Remus again since the day he brought the sandwiches in. He was stressing over it because he wanted Remus to know that he was treating his son well.

On a rainy Saturday morning, Sirius was on the phone with a client. The shop was fairly busy but there was a nice quietness to it. Teddy was washing the inside of the windows because Sirius was going to let him do some window art. It was only right for the kid to have his work on display, he was talented. Sirius hoped that it would transfer to the skin. Sometimes it didn’t. But he had faith in the teen.

As Sirius hung up the phone, the door opened and Remus Lupin walked in carrying a Tupperware. He looked over to see his son cleaning. Teddy didn’t notice him, so he walked over to his son looking somewhat annoyed. Sirius leaned on the counter as if he could lean close enough to hear their conversation. Luckily the next song that came on was soft enough for him to hear.

“I’m doing this because I want to,” Teddy said in a soft but angry voice.

“I thought you were actually working.”

“I am. But I can’t tattoo yet. I do plenty of other stuff. I’ve learned all about how to run the business, how to properly sterilize. I showed you the list.” Teddy practically hissed.

Sirius took a deep breath and decided to break up the conversation. “Hi! Remus, nice to see you again. It’s always great to have family around here. Mine visits all the bloody time. Some even work here.” He laughed, trying to lighten the mood be between the father and son.

“Hi, Sirius. I hope I'm not a bother. It’s just that I had leftover soup from the deli but we’re closed tomorrow. I didn’t want to toss it. I thought Teddy would want some. There’s plenty for everyone else too. I wouldn’t eat it after Sunday.”

“Thanks, Remus. That’s kind of you.” Sirius hoped that he wasn't too bubbly. But he was trying to be shiny and happy for the other man.

“Remus? You’re Teddy’s dad? I didn’t realize!” Bill, Regulus’ boyfriend, came out from the back.

“Oh, hello Bill.” Remus looked as surprised as Sirius felt.

“You know each other?” Teddy looked between the two. Sirius did as well because he was curious about this development.

“Yeah, he runs the deli that Gideon, my uncle, owns.”

“I didn’t realize it was the same place,” Sirius said excitedly. Maybe Gideon could talk Sirius up a little when he returned. He knew the man was away on holiday for the last two months traveling across the world on some food expedition. He and Gid weren’t close but they were decent enough acquaintances. “Your bread is fantastic.”

“That’s a weird pick up line,” Marlene said as she walked by the group. Luckily everyone seemed to ignore it or Teddy and Remus didn’t hear it because there was no zero reaction from them.

“I should get going,” Remus said after checking his phone.

“You’re always out the door. You really should come to visit and stay one day for a tour.”

Teddy looked between the two men nervously as he held onto the soup. It was almost as if he wanted his two divorced parents to come together again and make nice.

“Maybe one day.”

“Are you going on a date with that bloke again?” Teddy questioned as Remus once again looked at his phone.

Sirius tried not to smile, finding out that he was interested in men as well. It shouldn’t have mattered because he was not going to date, Remus. He couldn’t fancy him. Plus, the man seemed to hate his guts. There was no doubt in his mind that Remus had Googled him and read all about his past.

“Yes, you’ll have to fend for yourself for dinner. Don’t burn the flat down, please.”

Teddy huffed and rolled his eyes. “See you later. I’m going to put this in the refrigerator.”

Before Remus could walk away Sirius stepped closer, “Look, I want you to know I’m not an arsehole. I treat everyone who works for me like family.”

Remus’ face went a bit funny. Yeah, he had read about his family. That probably wasn’t the best analogy.

“He’s a good kid and I want him to succeed,” Sirius said earnestly. “But, I — er, if you —”

“I do need to go. I’ll think about coming in one day.”

“Whenever is fine. Or drop in to say hi.” Sirius insisted. “Have a good, ah, date.”

Remus thanked him before leaving. Sirius needed to get through to the man. He couldn’t have Teddy walking around like a bundle of nerves anytime his father was in the shop. There had to be some way to get through to him.

***

Sirius groaned after receiving a text from Bathilda saying she couldn’t take care of his dog, Snuffles when he was due to spend the weekend at the Potter estate with everyone to celebrate their 40th anniversary. What on earth do batty old women do the whole weekend?

“Something wrong?” Teddy asked as he came into Sirius’ space.

“Nothing, I just lost my dog sitter for the weekend. I would bring him but Effie is deathly allergic.” He frowned. He didn’t want to put him in the kennel.

“I’ll watch him.” Teddy offered. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Your dad won’t mind?” Sirius questioned. He had a feeling that Remus Lupin would very much mind Teddy doing extra work for Sirius.

“I’ll stay at my mate’s place for the weekend. He has his own flat and loves dogs.”

“That’s a lot of effort to avoid telling your father you’re doing a favor for me. I think you should be honest with him.”

“You’re concerned with what he thinks about you, aren’t you?” Teddy questioned him, taking a seat at his desk.

“You’re concerned with what he thinks about the shop.” Sirius countered Teddy.

“I am but he needs time to see that things are good here. The lunch thing put him off because he thought my lunch was binned on purpose. Then he thought I was cleaning the other week. He thinks I’m lying about being happy here because he’s protective.”

“He still thinks you’re just the shop bitch? Does he think we’ve hazed you or are working up to it?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“And he’s read about my sordid past online, I’m sure.” Sirius sighed.

“Yeah, the assault case and your parents?”

“You did too and you still want to work here?” Sirius snickered.

“You’re a good bloke, I can tell. Dad needs to work that out himself. But at the same time, I am not telling him I’m watching your dog because he will think you’re making me do favors for you.”

“It’s not as if I’m not going to pay you.”

“I know but he’s weird. Trust me, me lying to him for the time being is the best. I’ll get him to come into the shop eventually and maybe you can try to befriend him or something to get him off your back.”

Sirius nodded. “Fine. I’ll get everything ready for Snuffles tomorrow so you can pick him up on the way out. He liked you when I brought him by before. He’ll be happy.”

“He’s a happy dog.”

***

Trying his best not to worry about Snuffles being with new people in a new place on top of the fact that Teddy was lying to his father, Sirius attempted to relax when he got to the estate Friday night. He enjoyed dinner with the Potters, Evan-Potters, and Regulus. The Lupins and Snuffles were mostly far from his mind for the whole evening.

When everyone retired for the night, he and James stayed up playing card games. “So, how’s Teddy doing?” his best mate asked him.

“Teddy’s amazing. He’s talented. I wish I could skip everything and have him tattooing right now.” Sirius said as he shuffled the deck. “I don’t know what to do about his father though.”

“Right, still thinks you’re an arse?”

“I think so. Teddy’s watching Snuffles this weekend because Bathilda couldn’t for some reason. He’s spending the weekend at his mates, lying to his dad about what he’s doing. It’s so ridiculous.”

“Why is he staying at his mates? You couldn’t just let him flat-sit too?”

“I offered but he said it might be weird for him to stay at mine. I didn’t argue that. I don’t want him snooping through my things. Not that I’m accusing him but I know I would.”

“Oh, me too. I used to always snoop through your shite.” James laughed loudly. “Why is he lying about dog sitting?”

“Remus doesn’t like me and thinks I’m taking advantage of him. I didn’t even ask Teddy, he offered. I’m also paying him very handsomely for his time.” Sirius frowned. “I think it’s my past.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play daft, Prongs, you know what I mean. He looked me up and saw all the shite about me. How I was shunned from my aristocratic family for being gay, how I was into drugs for that bit there, and then how I nearly murdered Pettigrew after he almost killed you and Lily.” Sirius wished his past would disappear some days but it was always there lurking about somewhere. But that wasn’t who he was now.

“That was all almost fifteen or more years ago.”

“I know that. Believe me, I know that very well.” Sirius waved a hand. “I don’t wish to revisit it all because I’m very happy now.”

“You just have to show the elder Lupin otherwise.”

“He’s not that much elder.”

“So, he should know about making mistakes at a young age. Oh god, not that Teddy was a mistake. I’m saying that—”

“Well, first thing I’ll be sure not to do is call Teddy a mistake the next time I see him.” Sirius reached across the tabled and lightly hit his palm against the other man’s forehead. “Fucking hell, Prongs.”

“I know, never tell them I said that.”

“I won’t! God, you can’t say something like that. Anyway, I need to meet with him out of the shop. We’re having that tent at Pride with face and body painting. Maybe I can get Teddy to invite him. He said his mum and step-dad are coming down from Wales during Pride. They could all come.”

“Mum and Dad are probably coming by, I’m sure they will help Remus see that you’re brilliant and amazing.”

“They might help too much.” Sirius laughed. Effie and Monty could be a bit overwhelming with people but they would paint Sirius in a nice light.

***

Unfortunately for Sirius, it seemed that he was not going to be falling into the good graces of Remus Lupin just yet. On Monday morning, after collecting Snuffles from Teddy, he was walking back to the shop. He passed by The Burrow, Remus’ deli, but he didn’t go into it. He thought about going in but decided against it. Not that it mattered because as he was about twenty steps away when he heard the door open.

“Oi! Black!” Remus called after him.

Sirius stopped and spun around to find the man coming towards him. He looked angry. Sirius groaned inwardly. This was not a confrontation he wanted to have at the moment. Especially with Remus. “Hi, Remus, what’s going on?”

“You know, you shouldn’t be having people do your personal work when they’re working for you. You had no right to ask Teddy to watch your dog all weekend.”

“I didn’t ask him!” Sirius said, trying not to shout. “He offered. I also paid him. He was never obligated to do it.”

Remus clenched his jaw. “Really? He wasn’t just telling me that?”

“I swear to god. I can show you the payment on my PayPal.” He went to reach for his phone.

“Right, okay.” Remus shook his head.

“I didn’t mean to cause any problems.” Sirius frowned.

“I need to go back to work.” He started to leave.

“Remus, can you please come by the shop? You’d see—”

“Sorry, Sirius.” He apologized then went back towards the deli.

Sirius sighed loudly as he walked the rest of the way to the shop. He couldn’t figure out how to make Remus see that he wasn’t a bad guy. It seemed like Sirius couldn’t do anything right, no matter what. It wasn’t as if Sirius was mistreating Teddy, not paying him anything, and just ignoring him. He was doing everything he could to help Teddy advance. He even offered to pay for an art class Teddy wanted to attend.

He was surprised to find that Teddy had beat him there. The kid was looking over the appointments on the computer. “What’s the matter?” Teddy looked at him with concern.

“Your father just stopped me when I walked by the deli asking me why I asked you to watch his dog.”

Teddy groaned and put his head down on the counter. “I told him the truth as you suggested and he didn’t believe me.” He lifted his head up. “I am so sorry, Sirius.”

“It’s fine. I don’t know what to do to make things right with him.” Sirius shook his head.

“Look, dad is just obsessed with me being okay. It stems from some worry about fucking me up because my parents had me when they were practically kids. There’s nothing you’re going to be able to do to fix any of that.” Teddy snorted. “The best thing to do is to ignore him. Be nice if he’s around but you’re not going to fix things magically.”

But Sirius wanted to fix things magically.

***

Three weeks later, Sirius had not had another run in or incident with Remus. He hadn’t come by the shop nor had Teddy brought him up. Sirius wondered what the other man was thinking Sirius was doing to his son. Teddy informed him that Remus would be stopping by their tent during Pride, so Sirius hoped the change of scene would help a little.

The shop set up their tent in Golden Square near the family stage. They were doing face and body painting (only on arms and legs). Effie was also going to offer Mehndi when she got in. Teddy was finishing up with some kids’ butterfly face paint as Sirius was handing out temporary tattoos with Marlene, James, and Lily. Harry was sitting on Lily’s phone as he ate ice cream.

Teddy had moved into the second phase of his apprenticeship. That meant he was developing tattoo flash, working on understanding the machines, making needles, and so on. Teddy was continuing different drawing exercised and techniques on top of taking an art class. He was doing tattoos on people as well. Sirius was sure the teen could move on to phase three soon enough.

“Teddy!” A boy about Harry’s age, 11 or so, came bounding into the tent. Trailing behind him were a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes and a taller man with short dark hair and brown eyes. The woman was wearing a shirt that said ‘I love my Gace son’. Clearly, this was Teddy’s mum. Sirius hadn’t heard too much about her outside of her and her husband and Teddy’s brother Neville lived out in Cardiff.

“Hey! Neville!” Teddy high fived the chubby kid. “Mum… what are you wearing? What the hell is gace?”

“Gay and ace!” She said cheerily before giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

“That’s not a thing!”

“Now it is.” She snickered.

Sirius couldn’t help but laugh. He turned around to the family to introduce himself. He hoped that Teddy’s mum would like him much more than his dad. “Hi, I’m Sirius.”

“Oh, Teddy’s told me so much about you and the shop. I’m Alice, his mum, and this is Frank my husband and that’s Neville.” She pointed to the boy who was looking at the temporary tattoos in curiosity. Marlene turned to the boy and showed him the selection.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sirius shook their hands. “Your son is amazing. He’s so talented, I’m lucky to have him in the shop.”

“We’re all so proud of him.”

“Where’s dad? I thought he was coming with you.” Teddy said.

“He texted me that he ran into Gil but he’s on his way. Hopefully the man doesn’t suck him into some long winded conversation.” She scoffed.

Teddy made a disgusted noise then looked to Sirius. “Er, Gil is dad’s ex. He was a pompous arsehole and no one liked him.”

“I try not to say how I feel about his relationships in fear of sounding like a jealous former girlfriend — which I’m not — but the bloke was an idiot.” Alice clarified.

“I didn’t even like him and I like everyone. At least that’s what Alice and Ted say.” Frank laughed.

“Sorry, I’m late.” Remus said. He was wearing a pink and purple shirt. He kissed Alice on the cheek then shook Frank’s hand. “Where’s Neville?”

Sirius looked over his shoulder to see him talking to Harry. “With my mate’s kid.” Sirius pointed over to the two looking intently at the screen.

“I hope you don’t mind him on the phone.” Lily turned around to the group. “I’m Lily. Harry’s mum and one of Sirius’ best mates. This is James, my husband and Sirius’ bestest mate.” She patted James on the back.

“Hi, all.” He turned to give a wave and smile before going back to the kid trying to pick out a temporary tattoo.

“No worries, though I’d love to walk around a bit. Hopefully I can pull him away.”

“I’ll just take the phone away when you’re ready.” Lily laughed. “How old is he?” Lily pulled Alice into a conversation.

“Why does your mother’s shirt say ‘I love my gace son’?” Remus asked Teddy.

“She said it’s a combination of Gay and Ace.”

“Er, are we doing that now? Did I miss the newsletter?”

“Funny. No. She’s just being embarrassing.” Teddy said with an eye roll.

“I sort of like it.” Sirius nodded.

“So, Remus, he seems perfectly acceptable to me.” Frank nodded his head in Sirius’ direction.

Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve never said otherwise. Sirius, I promise I haven’t. Don’t listen to his lies and slander.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m sure they just heard the judging silences.” Teddy commented with a look to his father before looking to see that there was a couple of young teens waiting by the face painting table. “Oh, I have got a customer.”

“We’re going to go walk around, I think. We’ll come back after doing a lap.” Frank said before turning to his wife.

“So, want to be painted?” Sirius asked Remus with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you going to paint ‘arsehole’ in across my forehead?” Remus made a face. “I’m sure I deserve it.”

“No, I was going to paint something nice on your arm if you’d let me.” Sirius pointed to the empty seats at the end of the table. He figured having Remus sit down with him for an amount of time he decided on would be helpful.

Remus sighed, “Okay. But nothing embarrassing.”

“You don’t trust me.” Sirius shook his head but sat down at the table. Remus took the empty seat across from him. “Look, I have this urge to be liked by others.” He gestured to Remus to give him his arm.

“Yeah?” Remus let Sirius turn his arm so his hand was palm up.

“It’s horrid and I hate it. But that’s me. I also do not want to cause anyone pain and anguish. I want Teddy to thrive and I’ll do anything possible to get him there.” He picked up his paintbrush before dipping it in the black paint.

“I made the mistake of reading all that shite online.” Remus admired to him.

“Well, I won’t say that the shite isn’t happening. I know how most places operate. I don’t have time for that personally. He did offer to watch Snuffles for me, you know? The lunch thing, really was all Tonks being a Tonks. He was washing the window because he wanted to. Did you see the art he did for it? It’s beautiful.”

“No, I haven’t been by the shop since then.”

“Come by, this week if you can do it.”

“How about next Saturday?” Remus said, watching Sirius carefully paint a crescent moon.

Sirius let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, next Saturday. He’s coming along. He could probably take a chair right now but there’s protocol and all that in order for him to be licensed properly.”

“I’m so happy he’s doing what he loves.” Remus smiled. “You have no idea how scared I was that we were going to screw him up when we were younger. I mean, we were right through this point.”

“You’ve done a good job. Alice too.”

“You can’t tell he was raised by two sixteen year olds that didn’t know what the fuck they were doing?”

“I don’t think most people do know what they’re doing. Believe me, there are people who are over the age of 30 that fuck up their children.” Sirius began to fill the inside of the moon with a gray. “He loves you. He also really wants you to like the shop and everyone in it.”

“I think I do. I was a stubborn arse.” Remus laughed. “Are you doing a moon?”

“I could have done a wolf but that would have been too obvious, Mister Werewolf. Your parents did that to you?”

“Oh yeah, they did. My dad is a professor of Ancient Rome. My mum is very funny.” Remus chuckled. “And if the wolf were obvious then why do you have a Canis Major tattoo just under your clavicle?”

Sirius felt himself flush, knowing that Remus had looked at him close enough to notice that. “Good eye. Do you have any tattoos?”

“No, none.”

“You should get one. Maybe you’ll like this and want to make it permanent.” Sirius smiled as he finished filling in the moon. He needed to add some flowers to it. “Teddy could do it, that’d be fun.”

“I don’t know,” Remus said, watching Sirius work. “It’s not as if I dislike tattoos. I do like them and have thought of getting one multiple times. I am shite at commitment. The only thing I’ve ever done long-term is raising my son. Well, and work at the deli.”

“I think you’d look pretty badass with a tattoo. Teddy would be over the moon if you let him do it too.”

Remus shrugged as he continued to watch Sirius work. They sat quietly as he finished with his piece. It was beautiful and Sirius wished it wasn’t temporary.

***

The next Saturday came and Remus Lupin was expected to be in the shop after lunch. Sirius seemed to be the only one to care about this fact. Everyone else was busy but he made sure that his calendar was clear for Remus. Sirius thought at least Teddy would care but he didn’t because he was more focused on the work he was going to be doing once Tonks finished up with her appointments for the day.

Teddy was going to be doing a fairly large thigh piece on Nymphadora, who asked for Teddy to do it explicitly because she loved his style. He had done a few small to medium pieces before on his friends and shop employees but this was his largest and most detailed. It was a take on Tonks’ cat done to make it look like a Victorian portrait. It was cute but detailed. Sirius wasn’t worried though, Teddy was a savant. He was far more skilled than Sirius had been at this stage.

“You’re not nervous about your dad coming and watching you? Is it too much?”

“No, I don’t care.” Teddy said as he got together what he needed for Tonks’ tattoo. Sirius knew he didn’t because the teen was that calm and cool.

“Okay, well, finish up here and I’ll go see if he’s in yet. I’ll send Tonks back once she’s done with her client too.” Sirius looked at his watch. Remus was due in any moment.

He needed to be honest with himself, he thought as he walked towards the front of the store. Sirius didn’t just want Remus to think he was a good person because he was and he was proud of his business and how he treated his employees. But there was another reason. Sirius fancied the man. He was tall, fit, and caring. From his short talks with Remus he found him just the right amount of snarky.

That was a problem though. Having a crush on his apprentice’s father was probably in violation of many ethical standards. It wasn’t as if he could date the other man even if Remus were interested. Not that it mattered solely because there was no way Remus would ever be interested. There was so much hesitation from him due to Sirius’ background just over Teddy working in his shop. He couldn’t imagine a world where he would ever be interested in dating Sirius Black.

When he got out to the front of the shop, Remus was talking Marlene. “Ah, there he is. Remus was telling me how this place used to be a record store when he was a kid.”

“It was?” Sirius’ face lit up. “That’s perfect. I love music.”

“That’s good then, huh? Perfect match.” Remus grinned before pushing himself off of the counter where he was leaning. He was far more relaxed now. Maybe their conversation at Pride did the job to get Remus to see that he was genuine. It had only taken four months. “So, what am I to do?”

“I was going to give you a tour then we can watch Teddy do some work on Nymphadora. You can stay however long you want or how long Teddy wants.” Sirius laughed. “First I have to tell Tonks that he’s ready for her when she’s good to go. You can either follow me or continue to chat with Marls.”

“I’ll come with you.” Remus said then followed Sirius to Nymphadora, who was cleaning up her station. Sirius told her to take her time and go see Teddy afterward.

“If she doesn’t take her time, she’d probably manage to hurt herself.” He snickered as they walked back towards Sirius and Teddy’s space.

“And she pierces people’s bodies?”

“I know, it’s shocking but she’s good at her job. Normally she only hurts herself.” He rolled his eyes. “She was also worse when she was younger. Once Andi, my cousin and her mum, took Nym sledding. She stood up on the sled like a snowboard or something, fell, and broke her leg. That’s just one of many stories.”

“Well, hopefully she doesn’t manage to mess up her tattoo somehow.”

“She has a few and hasn’t thus far. So, we’ll see.”

“You’re shop is nice, by the way. Is it Japanese influence with the walls and some of the art?”

“Yes!” Sirius said excitedly. “My horrid mother was Japanese but I love the country. We lived there when I was younger.”

“Very nice.” Remus said as they got to his space. “Hi Teddy.”

“Dad, good, I’m glad you came.” He grinned as Remus hugged him.

When Nym came in, Sirius went to go find a chair for Remus to sit in. He felt like things with the other man were in a better place. It was a good step that the man had come in for the day. Sirius hoped that he could come to be a fixture in the shop, just as the rest of everyone’s friends and family. It made a good feeling in the shop.

They spent most of the time with Teddy and Tonks. Remus looked at his son so fondly as the teen worked. It made Sirius want to hug him. Remus was a good father, he hoped the other man knew that.

Eventually, Sirius had to step out to take a call. After he hung up, Remus was coming out from the back. “I had to stretch my back. I don’t know how he does it.”

“I thought I was going to be stuck hunched over after doing this mad chest piece once.” Sirius snickered as he remembered the feeling of his aching back that he had for days. “Are you heading out?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to bother him anymore.” Remus shrugged, looking around the shop. “I’m glad I came in. I should have done it sooner.”

“I wish that you had too.”

“I understand you too now.”

“You know I’m not an arsehole?”

“Yeah, I can tell you respect Ted.”

“Immensely. He’s more talented than I am.” Sirius held his hands up.

“See, I don’t believe that because I’ve looked up your work. You’re brilliant.” Remus pointed at him. “Stop with the false modesty. I don’t find it very attractive.”

Sirius felt his cheeks pink. Was he being flirted with? God, he hoped so. “All right, fine, I’m fantastic. But Teddy is too.”

“Much better.” Remus gave a cheeky grin. “I’ll see you round. Have a good night, Sirius.”

“You too, Remus.” He watched the other man leave, feeling a mix of relief and abject fear. If he was being flirted with, how was he not supposed to flirt back? This would cross too many boundaries, wouldn’t it? Shite.

***

The months rolled on from July through October nearly seamlessly. Teddy was working diligently. Sirius had found him some events to go to after New Year all over to see different artists and their techniques. He was doing so much great work that Sirius wished he could list him as an artist on their website. That would come soon enough, as he would be coming up on a year in the early spring.

Sirius and Remus were friendly. Sirius wouldn’t go so far to say that they were mates but they were friendly enough. The other man would pop in and bring food for the employees from time to time. Sirius would stop by the deli for a sandwich or something to take home or to work. They’d make small talk, one might think was flirting but Sirius couldn’t be all too sure because he had heard Remus talk to others in the same tone before.

It was now November. The crush of his birthday and winter holidays were here. He did love it, no matter how frantic things became. He loved this time of year. He loved the smell of fall. He loved the change of fall to winter and that special snap in the air. Sirius felt at home there. He felt that way as he walked to the restaurant that Monty and Effie were taking him to dinner for his birthday.

When he got in he let the hostess know he was there for a reservation probably under Potter and she led him towards the back of the restaurant. He was only partly surprised when the woman let him into the private event space. Inside his friends and family were there, all shouting surprising at him. James had been acting all funny since the week before so he knew that something was going on. Effie and Monty shouldn’t have said a thing about it to their son.

“Did we get you Padfoot?” James grinned, throwing his arms around him.

“Yes! Thanks everyone.” He smiled as Effie hugged him tight.

“Happy birthday, my darling.” She squeezed him tight.

“Thanks mum.” He kissed her on the cheek before going to hug Monty.

“I hope James didn’t spoil it.” Monty spoke as Sirius saw Remus talking to Fabian, Charlie, and Bill. “Ah, you’re attention is elsewhere.” He looked at Sirius curiously.

“What? Oh, no, I’m surprised he’s—”

“Sirius! Hey, I can’t stay long because I have an assignment due tomorrow. But happy birthday!” Teddy said.

“Thanks. You’re not done? I thought you said you were nearly there.”

“I’m almost done but it’s just not right.” Teddy shrugged.

“Don’t be a perfectionist.” He advised. “Stay as long as you can but at the same time if it’s killing you then please go home and work on it.”

“Okay! I would rather stay here but—”

“But the art is calling you.” Sirius completed his sentence. “Say goodbye to your dad first.”

“You know, sometimes it’s like I have a third father.” Teddy quipped before heading off in the direction of his dad. Sirius decided to follow after him.

“Third dad?”

“Yeah, my dad, Frank, and now you.” Teddy explained as the crossed the room.

Sirius was not sure how to protest against this one but he didn’t have to as they made it to Remus.

“I’m going. I have the project due tomorrow and I still hate it.” Teddy said to his dad, interrupting his talk with the three gingers. “I was nice and said happy birthday to Sirius. So, I’m off.”

Remus frowned, “Teddy, you’ve been working so much lately.”

“Well, it’s due tomorrow.” Teddy said, with a look that made Sirius believe if the teen had feathers, they’d be ruffled.

“It looked good.”

“I already told him to stop being a perfectionist.” Sirius offered his input.

“See! Third dad!” Teddy snapped, clearly annoyed with everything.

“What?” Remus and the rest of the men looked completely confused.

“Bye!” Teddy huffed then left.

“Sorry, that’s not the happiest birthday.” Remus watched his son leave.

“No, I understand. He’s not putting on paper what he sees in his brain. Well, he might be but he’s just not seeing it right. The plight of an artist.” Sirius snorted a laugh.

“What the hell was the third dad thing?” Fabian asked with a grin.

“Oh, he thinks I’m offering him advice in the vein of a father. So, third dad.”

“You know, sorry I ever thought ill of you because you can put up with Teddy when he’s in a strop. He shouldn’t be talking to you that way.” Remus shook his head.

“It’s really fine.” Sirius assured him. “I promise. Excuse me lads, I do need to go make the rounds and be nice or Effie will yell at me later.”

Following dinner and cake some of them went out for drinks. Mostly everyone else went home as it was Thursday and normal people were working in the morning. Sirius was happy with Remus tagged along with Marlene, Dorcas, James, Lily, Fabian, and Fab’s girlfriend Em. “Don’t you lot have to be up early for the deli?” Sirius asked Fab and Remus after Lupin set a pint glass in front of him.

“Nah, Ben’s opening tomorrow morning.” Remus said.

“Well, cheers,” Sirius clinked his glass with Remus’. “Can you believe you hated me just a few months ago.”

“I did not hate you. I was just wary.”

“I can’t believe I missed all that.” Fabian laughed.

“Yeah, because traveling around the world was so boring.” Marlene rolled her eyes and Marlene let out a loud laugh.

“Sirius is a good bloke. He and Regulus have known Molly and the brats for like two going on three years now. Me too. I mean, it’s a miracle you haven’t met before.” Fabian said. “I think it’s funny you thought Sirius was taking advantage of Teddy. This bloke doesn’t have it in him.”

“I’ve realized that.” Remus smiled and nudged Sirius with his elbow. “I mean, I am at your birthday party. I was invited on four separate occasions, actually.”

Sirius furrowed his brow. Why were his mates so keen on getting Remus to the party? “What?”

“Teddy was first then Lily called me the same day then Marlene stopped by the deli to ask and then Effie called me. I don’t know how they all got my number. I’m assuming through the Weasley/Prewett tree.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Fabian snickered.

Somehow, at the end of the night it was just Sirius and Remus. Neither of them had responsibilities the following day. Sirius felt some thrill to be out with Remus Lupin after everyone else had gone home. They had left the bar they were originally at in pretense of walking home as the others left. Now they were in a seedy pub not very far from Sirius’ flat.

“Did you always want to be a tattoo artist?” Remus asked as they sat across from one another in a tiny booth.

“God, no, I didn’t know what I wanted to be for a long time. I nearly dropped out of school when I was sixteen but the Potters encouraged me to stay. Then I started and stopped Uni three times before realizing this could be my career.” Sirius explained to the taller man. “When I was younger my parents tried very hard to get me to conform to their ideas of what it meant to be a Good Son.”

“Sorry,” Remus took a sip of his pint.

“Eventually I was able to reject it all but their judgment stuck around. Then things went shite for a bit. You read all about the drugs and assault charges.”

Remus nodded.

“The drugs were an escape from shite that my parents did to me in the past. But the assault thing, well, it’s a long story.” Sirius bit his lip. “My parents wanted me to come back and work for them. Father owns a horrid pharmacy company. James, he’s a barrister, he and works with his dad. They were bringing up charges on the company for pollution. Something about causing cancer in a certain area of the Midlands.”

“Yeah, they did charge them. I remember seeing that.”

“And that was after Peter, the traitorous arsehole former friend, cut the brakes in Lily and James’ car. A cousin’s husband offered him a shite load of money to do it and he needed it at the time. Peter was always crap at saying no.”

Remus’ eyebrows shot up.

“Luckily they weren’t killed but they were hurt pretty bad. Lily was pregnant then too. She lost the baby. I — ugh, Peter had all this guilt and told me when I was out drowning my sorrows the following night. I beat him to within an inch of his life.” He felt that lump in his throat that was there whenever he talked about his past.

Sirius nearly jumped when he felt Remus’ fingers wrap around his wrist. “I’m sorry. You got through that all?”

“I went to rehab, took anger management classes, and I go to therapy. It was ages ago and I’m happy now. Granted, some days are hard but I still have the Potters and all these other wonderful people around me.”

“I feel horrible for not thinking you were a good person.” Remus’ thumb followed the vein on the underside of his wrist, up and down. “I’m sorry I jumped to those conclusions.”

“If this is the last time you tell me that you’re sorry then I’ll be happy.” Sirius leaned on the table. “Anyway, I’m glad Teddy is happy with me and that I’m happy with him. I’m glad that I have a new friend in you too it seems.”

“Yeah,” Remus was still stroking his inner wrist. Sirius could hear his heart beating in his ears. He wanted to lean across the table and pull Remus into a kiss. A searing one that would make his knees go jelly-like. “You’ve done so much for him. I can’t believe how much you pay him. Apprentices usually don’t get paid.”

“I know. I’m getting him his equipment too.” Sirius disclosed. “Don’t tell him that, it’s going to be a gift. He’s talented and it should be shared with the world.”

“Well, you apparently are his third father now so it’s only right.” Remus shook his head and leaned back, no longer holding on to Sirius’ wrist.

Sirius pulled his hands under the table. He squeezed his knees and tried to relax. “He’s so edgy today.”

“He has pretty bad anxiety that’s pretty well managed. But sometimes it makes him feel like this.”

“Should I tell him to take a step back?”

“No, he’ll hate that I even told you about it.” Remus shook his head. “I only told you because you do care about him.”

They talked for another hour before they left the pub. Sirius could sense some tension between them. But it wasn’t the tension he felt months before. It was one that Sirius liked, to a point. He wanted the tension to break in a spectacular way that involved much less clothing than he had on right now.

***

By the end of January Sirius hated the tension he was feeling. Every time he had been around Remus lately, he wanted to crawl out of his skin. Remus was a flirt, it seemed. It also seemed that he enjoyed being around the shop as much as he could without annoying Teddy. Sirius hated it because they were now mates but he couldn’t tell if Remus felt the same way.

Outside of the searing sexual tension with Remus, things were good. Teddy was about to leave for a few months to go observe different artists around the world as well as attend a few conventions. Sirius paid the whole way, which he was very happy to do. This was the last part of Teddy’s apprenticeship. By April, close to Teddy’s birthday, he was going to complete his apprenticeship.

Everyone from the shop, as well as Remus, were out to celebrate Teddy with a nice dinner before he left for Berlin. The first stop on his list. Sirius knew this mad bloke, Moody, out there. He was a complete genius but he was rough around the edges. Sirius warned Teddy about it endlessly when they were going on his itinerary. This elicited more of Teddy’s insistence of him being his Third Dad.

“Hey, Sirius,” Teddy said as they trailed behind the rest of the group leaving the restaurant.

“Yeah, Ted?” He asked, slowing his pace.

“Thanks, for it all. I can’t believe I got so lucky with this.”

“Teddy, I know you still have a few months but I want you to know, there’s a space for you at the shop if you want it. Don’t feel obligated but I’d like you to know that.”

“Yeah, that’s brilliant.” He grinned. “I’d like to you know if you fancy my dad then you can date him.”

Sirius choked on his spit when he took a sharp inhale.

“Ha, knew it.” Teddy said as they walked outside.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sirius said quickly.

“Right, I’m sure you don’t.” He patted Sirius’ shoulder.

Sirius couldn’t say anything else because they joined the rest of the group on the street. Everyone said their goodbyes to Teddy for now, promising to throw the biggest bash for him when he returned to celebrate his birthday and the end of his apprenticeship. Remus promised them all he’d still drop by with extra food from the deli when he had any.

When Sirius got home, he was surprised to find James. He was sitting on his sofa watching telly. “Lily took Harry to her sister’s for their yearly get together, ugh. You’re looking sad.” The man said, sitting up a little straighter when Sirius sat down next to him.

“We just had a goodbye dinner for Teddy.”

“Ah, your trusty apprentice. I’m sure you’re sad that means you’ll be seeing less of his father.” James raised an eyebrow. Of course Sirius had told him all about his feelings for the other man.

“Possibly. James, Teddy told me I could date Remus.”

James beamed, “He did?”

“I guess I’m obvious.”

“He spends a lot of time around you. It’s not surprising that he noticed. I saw it at your birthday in November. You swear that nothing happened between you two that night?”

“No. I told you all about it.”

“That wrist thing sounded pretty intimate.” James shrugged. “Why don’t you ask him out on a date?”

“I know Teddy said to date him but I’m worried that it’s just not the right thing to do.”

“Sirius, you do everything right. Down to the point of obsessive I think. You want to be good and perfect and I understand where that all comes from. But maybe you can bend things a little when it comes to Remus. Teddy approves.”

“It’s better for me to wait.” He said resolutely.

***

A few weeks later, Sirius was distracting himself with work. He had a routine health and safety check coming up so he was going over everything in the shop the whole week. Teddy had sent him the occasional update about his journey. Remus had come in three times to bring in leftover bread and soup. He also delivered lunch when Marlene ordered something once.

After going to see some horrible band with Marlene and Dorcas, they were sitting at a pub complaining about it. “Sirius, hey,” He heard Remus’ deep voice behind him.

He turned around to see the man with a dishwater blonde woman. She was pretty and Sirius hated her. He shouldn’t have been jealous. Sirius had no right to be jealous. Remus was a friend, not even a close one, and father of his apprentice. Yet, here he was wanting to ask this woman if she was shagging Remus Lupin and for how long if it was a yes.

“Oh, hi Remus. All right?”

“Brilliant, Sirius, Marlene, Dorcas, this is my mate Mary.” Remus introduced them.

“Oh! Teddy’s tattoo guru and co. Nice to meet you.” She shook their hands.

Mate? Okay, that’s nice.

“I was just on my way out. Remus, why don’t you stay?” Mary gave him a push towards the table, which struck Sirius as strange. “I hope to see you all again someday.”

“Bye, Mare.” Remus said with a funny look as the woman gave a wave before taking off.

They all made conversation. Sirius told Remus about the horrible band they had just seen. He wondered if it was because he just now too old to appreciate new music. Remus assured him that wasn’t it. After speaking for ten minutes, Sirius realized that Marlene and Dorcas hadn’t spoken once. When he looked over to bring them into the conversation, they weren’t there.

“When did they leave?” Sirius looked at their empty glasses.

“I have no idea.” Remus laughed, putting a hand over his face. “God, I — Sirius, can I take you home? I think we’ve flirted enough over the last few months.”

Sirius felt himself flush. He put his head down on the table and just laughed.

“Ah, did I read this wrong?” Remus sounded nervous.

“No! No! You read it right.” Sirius sat back up. “I’ve just been trying not to make this happen until Teddy was no longer my apprentice.”

“We can wait.” Remus shrugged.

“Like hell. He doesn’t care. He told me to date you. Apparently you don’t mind either.”

“Not at all.” He slid his hand over, wrapping his fingers around his wrist. “I was hoping you wanted to go home with me after your birthday but,” Remus just shrugged. “Plus, Ted’s not around until April. By the time he comes back he’ll basically be finished with your program. We don’t have tell him or anyone, if you want.”

“True.”

“So, can I take you home?” Remus said softly, leaning in.

Instead of answering right away, Sirius closed the distance between them. Their lips met and Remus wrapped an arm around his waist to pull him close. Sirius felt like his whole body was humming. The kiss was far too quick but he was afraid of what he might do if he let himself get carried away.

“Please take me home,” Sirius sighed before letting himself be dragged out of his chair by Remus.

***

The next morning Sirius woke up with Remus wrapped around him. They made plans for a proper date. Remus and Sirius spent nearly two months happily dating behind the backs of their mates. Sirius was sure they were a bit obvious but he wanted to wait to come out with it to Teddy first, properly.

Their relationship was great. Sure, they were still in the honeymoon phase but that was okay. They did have little spats, especially since they started spending so much time with one another. They were very different people. Remus was strong in places Sirius could be passive. He was sarcastic, which Sirius found cutting sometimes. Especially if they were arguing. But he was generally sweet and lovely. He went out of his way to do nice things for Sirius all the time. They still had plenty to learn about one another.

One morning in late April, about three days before Teddy was due back, Sirius was lounging about in Remus’ bed. The other man was reading a book as Sirius was scrolling through his phone reading some of the shop’s recent reviews. All brilliant.

“I’m starved.” Sirius complained, setting his phone aside.

“My poor princess,” Remus sighed as Sirius pasted kisses across his chest. “I made dinner last night and breakfast yesterday morning.”

“Fine but I’m going to make the bacon extra crispy.” Sirius threatened but Remus just shrugged, turning the page of his book.

Sirius loved mornings like this. He loved waking up and taking things easy. He loved Sundays because the shop was closed, as was the deli. So he got Remus all to himself and neither of them had any responsibilities to deal with.

As he went to go sit up, Remus pulled him back down for a kiss. “Thank you for staying the night.”

“My pleasure. You know, when Teddy comes back we’ll be staying at mine. You’re going to need to stock some books at my place. Or steal mine.”

“We’ll worry about that in a few days. He’s going lose his mind about this.” Remus laughed as Sirius pulled on boxers, that he thought were his, and Remus’ well-worn jumper.

Sirius leaned down to press his lips to Remus’ once more before moving towards the door. “Stop reading in ten pages.”

“Fine.” Remus huffed. “It’s getting good though.”

“I’ll make breakfast worth it.”

“You better.” Remus called after him as he headed down the hall.

Sirius was surprised to see the light shining in the kitchen. He could have sworn he shut it off last night after getting a drink of water. Before he could turn the corner he heard Teddy say, “I hope you’re not naked Dad or Sirius.”

“Teddy?” Sirius laughed as he came into the kitchen to find the teen staring into the refrigerator as if food would materialize before his eyes.

“I saw your boots and jacket by the door.” Teddy raised an eyebrow after closing the door. “Are you making breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

“Brilliant.” He grinned. “So, when’d you two get your heads out of your arses?”

“Teddy!” Remus said as he came sliding into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of flannel bottoms and Sirius’ tee shirt.

“How long has it been? You realize everyone in the shop and deli all suspect this is a thing but you haven’t confirmed it?” Teddy laughed as Remus hugged him.

“It’s been two months. We didn’t want to say anything until you came home.” Remus explained to his son.

“We all knew you fancied each other, I’m just happy it happened. You’re happy, right?”

“Very.” Sirius grinned.

“Third dad,” Teddy snorted a laugh.

“Not that I’m not ecstatic about you being back, but you’re early.” Remus looked at the calendar on the refrigerator.

“The bloke I was within LA, he was ill so I made the trip short. I was getting rather homesick.” Teddy said.

“Well, we need to start putting together a party for you. We’ll celebrate the end of your apprenticeship and your birthday.” Sirius patted the teen on the back. “So, make a list of who you want and I’ll have Marls and your dad help me.”

“Great.” Teddy said as Remus opened the fridge.

“I thought you wanted me to cook.”

“And ruin Teddy’s welcome home? I don’t fancy giving him food poisoning you know?” Remus kissed Sirius on the cheek as he passed by him with the eggs and bacon.

“I would never.” Sirius watched his boyfriend for a moment.

Teddy was smiling at them when Sirius looked at him. “Dad, you know what I want for my birthday?”

“What?”

“To give you a tattoo.” Teddy took a seat at the small table in the corner of the kitchen.

“I like that idea.” Sirius said as he pulled out the orange juice.

“I’ll think about it.” Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius had been begging him to get one for weeks now.

***

Four months later, and Teddy was an official tattoo artist. Sirius had put him on the site as an artist and he was taking his clients. He took the space that was open in the shop, and Sirius hoped the man would stick around for some time because he couldn’t imagine his shop without him now.

Sirius was still dating Remus, practically living in Sirius’ flat. Their life was filled with domestic bliss of tea and books and crosswords as the telly murmured in the background. It was everything Sirius had never known he wanted. He made it to 35 without knowing what it was like to have someone that he loved and who loved him back so much.

Since Teddy returned from his tattooing pilgrimage, they had been on Remus about getting his first tattoo. The man rebuffed these suggestions at first. The idea of committing still seemed to wear on the man. Then both Teddy and Sirius started showing him some art they liked for him. Soon enough Remus was offering his thoughts and in the end his tattoo ended up being a combination of both Sirius and Teddy’s art.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Remus said as Sirius shaved the area of his thigh that he was getting done.

Teddy was laughing as he was getting ready. “Bloody hell, dad, you love Sirius. I hope you don’t freak out over commitment when he decides to marry you.”

“I’m not doing that any time soon.” Though, Sirius could see the appeal to it.

“Not the same thing.”

“You can change your mind. You might want to soon if you’re not sure.” Sirius said, disposing of the razor.

“No, no, I want it.” Remus shook his head.

The piece took a few hours. Sirius held Remus’ hand and they did a crossword together. Teddy’s piece ended up being much like the moon Sirius had painted on Remus about a year ago now. It was a crescent moon, waxing. There were heather, hyacinth, hydrangea, and snapdragons surrounding the moon. Teddy’s birthday was done in beautiful script around the top curve of the crescent. Teddy commented that they could easily add Sirius and Remus’ wedding date to it later.

“Want to see it?” Teddy said after tossing his gloves.

“Yeah.” Remus nodded.

“It’s beautiful,” Sirius kissed Remus quickly before helping him up from the table to go stand in front of the mirror.

Remus grinned as he looked at the piece. “Teddy, this is amazing.”

“So, you’re not going to take this off of via some lasers or some shite?” He snickered, coming to stand next to his dad.

“Never. Thank you.” He hugged Teddy. “I love that it’s from both of you. I mean, Teddy did it but I can see Sirius in it too.”

“That’s such a sappy thing to say.” Teddy scoffed as Remus pulled away from his son. “Can you believe you hated him last year?”

“Can we stop asking that question?” Remus rolled his eyes.

“So, Remus, want to draw something and I’ll have Ted tattoo it on me?” Sirius grinned at the taller man.

“That actually sounds fun. I think I have something in mind.” Remus laughed, wrapping an arm around Sirius’ waist.

In the end Remus drew a heart with a rainbow in it. Around it was a quote from Sylvia Plath, “Wear your heart on your skin in this life”. Remus said that it suited him.

When Teddy finished, Sirius looked down at his wrist where the tattoo sat. Sirius told him that he wanted it where Remus first touched him (Teddy made a vomiting noise at that). He was sure that he was never this happy before.


End file.
